Apple has brought out the fourth developer betas for iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, and macOS Tahoe 26.5 as testing of the updates continues.

The fourth developer betas for iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, and macOS Tahoe 26.5 arrive after the third, which came out on April 20. The second appeared on April 13.

The first round was distributed on March 30, but Apple re-released the developer beta for iOS 26.5 on March 24, complete with a new build number.

  • iOS 26.5 build 4 is 23F5069b, replacing 23F5059e
  • iPadOS 26.5 build 4 is 23F5069b, replacing 23F5059e
  • watchOS 26.5 build 4 is 23T5568a, replacing 23T5558e
  • visionOS 26.5 build 4 is 23O5468a, replacing 23O5458e
  • tvOS 26.5 build 4 is 23L5469a, replacing 23L5460d
  • macOS Tahoe 26.5 build 4 is 25F5068a, replacing 25F5058e
  • HomePod Software 26.5 build 4 is 23L5469a, replacing 23L5460d

Apple also released a pair of release candidates for older macOS versions:

  • macOS 15.7.7 RC 2 is 24G718
  • macOS 14.8.7 RC 2 is 23J518

The initial iOS 26.5 build introduced notification forwarding in the EU, and continued testing end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging. However, it also accidentally brought Apple Intelligence to China earlier than expected, and didn't include any Siri improvements despite speculation on the feature.

The second build laid more groundwork for the addition of ads to Apple Maps.

AppleInsider and Apple strongly advise that users avoid installing beta operating systems or beta software onto any "mission-critical" or primary-use hardware, because of the potential for data loss and other issues. Instead, they should keep backups of data where possible, and use spare secondary hardware that isn't as essential to maintain if something happens.

For users wanting a much safer experience of the inbound updates, Apple typically introduces out a public beta version shortly after the developer version. It's a more battle-hardened version of the update that tends to have fewer issues.

Find any changes in the new builds? Reach out to us on Twitter at @AppleInsider or @Andrew_OSU, or send Andrew an email at [email protected].